Ryanair Picks Eddie Wilson As Chief Executive Of Main Airline

Per Reuters, Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) recently appointed Eddie Wilson as the chief executive of its core airline business. Meanwhile, Michael O'Leary has been promoted to chief executive officer of Ryanair Group that includes Laudamotion and Buzz brands.

Wilson, a Ryanair-veteran of 22 years took charge on Sep 1 and reports to O'Leary. Previously, he served as the chief people officer and was responsible for negotiations with unions for the past two years.

A few weeks earlier, O'Leary announced that Peter Bellew would resign from his position as chief operations officer at the end of this year. Prior to this announcement, there were speculations of Peter Bellew becoming the new chief executive.

Meanwhile, Ryanair has been struggling with labor-related issues for a prolonged period of time. The carrier is currently facing strikes from its Spanish cabin crew and the UK pilots. Following a mediation failure between Ryanair and the union leaders, its Spanish cabin crew warned of a 10-day strike in September (1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 and 29). Meanwhile, the carrier’s British pilots began a three-day strike (which the airline believes will have minimal impact on travel). The airline staff is protesting against a poor pay structure and bad work conditions.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Ryanair carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) , Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) and Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE:GOL) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Allegiant, Copa and Gol Linhas have rallied more than 41%, 31% and 18%, respectively, so far this year.

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